This is the first resubmission of a Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) proposal requesting a state-of-the art GE Vivid 7 Ultrasound System, which will be used for exquisite cardiovascular phenotyping of humans for clinical research studies sponsored by the NIH and other organizations at Washington University. The requested system will be housed and operated in the Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory (CIRCL) located in the Center for Clinical Studies at Washington University. This dedicated ultrasound system will replace an existing ultrasound system which was purchased through the SIG mechanism in May 2000, and will be 9+ years by the time it is replaced through the current proposal. The current ultrasound system has been the workhorse of CIRCL, where the number of cardiac and vascular ultrasound studies has increased steadily since its original acquisition. Two major issues justify replacement: 1) the system has been malfunctioning for a number of years, thus creating difficulties in serving the current NIH-sponsored user group and 2) new technological advances requested by the user group justify the acquisition of a more modern system. The requested system will serve a user group composed primarily of 16 NIH-funded investigators at WU, representing a diverse range of disciplines, divisions, and departments. Each member of the user group has successfully used the present system, and a significant need for this system has been demonstrated during the past 9 years. The requested shared instrument will continue to have a major impact on the success of current and future NIH-supported research activities of the User Group and the clinical research community at Washington University. The requested system will be maintained and supervised by a Technical Director with administrative and scientific oversight by the CIRCL Director and PI for the requested instrument. This state-of-the-art cardiovascular ultrasound imaging system will continue to promote the success of the user group research programs and facilitate multidisciplinary efforts aimed at the characterization of cardiac and ventricular structure and function for translational studies in clinical medicine. The requested ultrasound system is critical for clinical research studies targeting major research areas, including: 1) Phenotype-genotype correlations in hypertensive heart disease;2) Cardiac metabolism, structure and systolic/diastolic function in aging, T1DM, and in postmenopausal women;3) Cardiac/vascular function in obesity and weight loss;4) Vascular function in metabolic syndrome and regression with novel pharmacologic agents;5) Cardiac/vascular function in HIV-AIDS;6) Vascular structure-function and phenotype-genotype correlations in metabolic syndrome;7)Cardiac and valve function in aortic stenosis and regression with novel pharmacologic agents;8) Ultrasonic tissue characterization;9) Cardiac function in Sickle Cell disease;10) Novel strategies for prevention of postoperative deep venous thrombosis. Acquisition of the new ultrasound system will provide immediate benefit to the user group in accomplishing the scientific goals of their NIH funded projects. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Our mission as NIH- sponsored academic physician-scientists is to develop new methods for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The requested state-of-the-art ultrasound imaging equipment will continue to play a critical role in the evaluation of subjects with diseases of the heart and blood vessels for NIH-sponsored clinical research studies.